Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

Major Taylor Velodrome Cyclocross Races 2011

Make sure to watch this until the very end.....

Fun Friday

The boys did these letters at the Y. Apparently Hudson's letter is the talk of the Y, the childcare director even has a copy on her fridge at home!

Run..Bike..Party!

Our weekend was filled with 2 races and a party. The boys ran in the YMCA Sleigh Bell Run. It was a half mile run with Santa. They did well and had fun doing it.


Ryan had another cyclocross race that afternoon. He was doing super well, but I was wondering where he was when I was waiting at the finish line of the final lap. Did I miss him? Did he already finish? But then I saw him at the top of the hill, running while carrying his bike on his shoulder. Apparently he ran into some mechanical issues due to all the mud. His bike broke after the first 1/3 of the last lap, so he ran the rest of the lap so he wouldn't be disqualified. Oh, and he still finished 43 out of 50!

Some of the fans running with him to the finish line.

Notice the "gift" he got upon crossing the finish line?

We had Hudson's party Sunday afternoon at the Y. He requested a Star Wars party. The kids had fun making light sabers from foam pipe insulation and colored duct tape.

We let the kids go wild in a racquetball court.

Fun Friday

In honor of Hudson's birthday yesterday, here's an old video that will make you laugh! Hudson's teacher said she loves to hear him talk and thinks he might have a future in broadcasting.

Happy Birthday Hudson!

Wow, you're 5 today! You are such a fun-loving boy. You love all things roller coaster, Star Wars, and Lego. You love to make maps at school, and really know your geography! You started to read this year and like to do math with your big brother. You love seafood and specifically requested grilled shrimp for your birthday dinner tonight.

We love you so much and we're so blessed to have you as our son.

Wordless Wednesday

Getting their groove on...

A good activity for a rainy Sunday afternoon...

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

I'm still working on the bushel of apples I bought a few weeks ago. Everyone loved this french toast. I like to use homemade challah bread for my french toast.

Apple French Toast Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 large apples, peeled and sliced thinly ( I use Cortland or Empire)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 slices Italian bread, 1 inch thick
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet and add apples.
2. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
3. Add brown sugar, water, and cinnamon and continue to cook and stir for 10 minutes until apples are tender.
4. Spoon mixture into 13x9 baking dish.
5. Cover apples with bread slices, making sure to cover the entire surface.
6. Trim the bread to fit if you must.
7. Beat eggs until foamy, then beat in milk and vanilla.
8. Pour egg mixture over the bread slices.
9. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
10. In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it stand while oven is preheated to 375 F.
11. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until bread is golden and firm.
12. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
13. To serve on a platter, run a knife around the edges of the casserole, place platter on top of casserole, and carefully flip.
14. To serve individually, use a spatula to remove serving, place serving plate on top of serving and carefully flip so apple side is up.

I've wanted to make pretzels with the boys, and I finally decided just to do it. They were super easy and the boys had fun rolling them into snakes. I used the mixer method.

Hot Buttered Pretzels

Dough
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons regular instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water*

Topping
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Food processor method: Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the water, and process for 7 to 10 seconds, until the dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. Process a further 45 seconds. Place a handful of flour in a bowl, scoop the slack dough into the bowl, and shape the dough into a ball, coating it with the flour. Transfer the dough to a plastic bag, close the bag loosely, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bread machine method: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for Dough or Manual, and press Start. Allow the dough to proceed through its kneading cycle (no need to let it rise), then cancel the machine, flour the dough, and give it a rest in a plastic bag, as instructed above.

Manual/Mixer Method: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat till well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, till it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it'll make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel, as illustrated. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave. Yield: 8 pretzels.

Rock out!

I took Brooks to his first rock concert on Tuesday night. Brooks has been a long time fan of David Crowder Band, it's his favorite band. When I found out 5 months ago that they were making a stop in Lafayette, I knew I had to take him. When I found out it was their farewell tour, there was no question that we had to go. I got him the tickets for his birthday.

He had been patiently waiting for months for this day, and it was worth the wait. It was an amazing concert. AMAZING! John Mark McMillan opened the show, one of my recent favorites. Chris August followed with an acoustic set, he was funny and sounded great. Gungor followed him. Gungor blew me away! You might have heard their recent hit on mainstream CCM, Beautiful Things. They also did an acoustic set with keys/bells/organ, guitar, and a beat-boxing cellist (you can see that on my video yesterday).

DCB* was so good, they are all very talented and I'm glad we got to see them before the end of the road. They played a solid two hours. I loved it when John Mark McMillan joined them to sing How He Loves (he wrote it).

Brooks had a great time and only fell asleep for 5 minutes. We got out of there at 11:30 pm, I'm glad we live only 5 minutes away from the venue.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

I'm loving the fall weather! Here's a great pumpkin dessert. There's obviously better for you than regular chocolate chip bars because they contain a vegetable, right?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

4. Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

These carrot "fries" were a great side with quesadillas. They almost tasted like sweet potatoes.

Oven Baked Carrot Fries

Ingredients

• 6 whole Large Carrots
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ teaspoons Celtic Sea Salt

Preparation Instructions

Cut each carrot into 2-inch long sections. Cut each section into thin sticks.

In a large bowl toss carrot sticks with olive oil and salt. Spread out carrot sticks on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 425° for 18-22 minutes until carrots are browned.

I was craving a dessert the other night after I taught water aerobics. This quick pudding fit the bill. Make sure to make it in a mug so you can eat it warm.

Microwave Chocolate Pudding for One

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk ( I use 1%)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix together milk, salt and cornstarch in microwave safe bowl.
2. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Put in microwave uncovered for 40 seconds on HIGH.
4. Stir until chips are well melted& blended.
5. Heat another 30 seconds.
6. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't bubble over.
7. At this point if it has not thickened, (will depend on wattage of microwave) keep going for 20 seconds intervals, stirring between each one until thickened.
8. Do keep an eye on it at all times.
9. Eat it right away (which is the way I like it) or let it cool.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

Fall is here, time to stock up on pumpkin! We love oatmeal at our house for a healthy and filling breakfast.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

• 3 cups quick cooking oats **I used old fashioned oats**
  
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup canned pumpkin
• ¼ cup brown sugar (for the top)

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except the ¼ cup brown sugar for the top.

Spread into a greased 9×13 pan.

Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup brown sugar on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

These pumpkin bars make a great treat and are very simple to make.

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour one glass 9 x 13 inch pan.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; add to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Spread into prepared pan.
6. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
8. For the frosting: beat together the cream cheese, butter and confectioner's sugar.
9. Evenly spread over bars after they have cooled.

And what is fall without a pumpkin spice latte? Save yourself some money and make this one at home.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 TB canned pumpkin
1/2 TB sugar
1 TB vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 shot espresso or 1/3 cup very strong coffee

Directions
In a saucepan, combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy.

Pour into a mug and pour the espresso on top.

**Jen's Notes**
I brew my espresso in a Bialetti Moka Express pot. It makes great espresso and doesn't take up a lot of space. I had mine for over a year and it's definitely paid for itself.

I froth my milk with an Ikea Milk Frother, much cheaper than the name brand and mine has held up well.

Cyclo-cross!

Ryan raced his first ever cyclocross race on Saturday. He did great and finished middle of the pack. We were proud of him!

The start...


In cyclo-cross they can have crazy things like staircases!

Heading for the finish line....

You have to watch this to get the sign...

Since we were in the neighborhood, we made a trip to the Indy Zoo. The boys liked touching the sharks the best. Hudson has now moved on from designing roller coasters to drawing zoo maps.